Easier backup of large iPhoto libraries in version 6?

If I upgrade from v5 to v6 will backup be easier? My library is >12 GB. An easily restorable backup requires using eg Backup 3 for a set of >=3 DVDs (hard to do this to backup frequently- and possibly flaky), or breaking it up into libraries <4.3GB using eg iPhoto Library Manager.
If v6 can really handle large libraries fast, it would be nice to avoid the complexities of several libraries.
Does the new Library structure make it easier to split it into chunks which can be merged for restore? <br>
IMac G5-1GB, iMac 233 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

This did not dislay proerly in the list - see if replying activates it

Similar Messages

Aperture crashes importing large iPhoto libraries

You wouldn't believe the trouble I am going through to import a 50,000-photo iPhoto Library. Since Aperture crashes while trying to import it, I must break up the iPhoto library into pieces. Since iPhoto can't export its database and photos intact unless you export to DVD, I am forced to export part of the library to 1 DVD at a time. Thankfully, I have a dual-layer burner on a new PowerBook or this process would take twice as many DVDs. But I'm still using about a dozen dual-layer DVDs just to export, then using the DVDs to re-import to a blank iPhoto Library and then importing each of those one at a time into Aperture.
All because Apple has no export to hard drive feature in iPhoto (maintaining structure and keywords and originals/mods), and because Apple's Aperture crashes on import of a large iPhoto library.
Ridiculous.

I have the same problem. I have about 15,000 photos in my iPhoto library that I've attempted 5 times to import unsuccessfully. The most recent tries had Aperture crash after 6439 (8746) images and 2620 (3667) images. The numbers in parentheses are the number of actual unstacked photos, since it imports two photos for any photo you editted in iPhoto (which I quite like).
I've read the crash reports, and I'm not certain why/where it is crashing, since the thread it says crashed has almost no debug info in it.
I attempted to import one roll at a time using the Import Files... dialog, and pointing it to the iPhoto Library. That was working, but given the hundreds of rolls I had, would have taken me a month of doing to get it done manually.
I am using a pair of external drives to do the import. One, a LaCie portable laptop drive, on FW400, has the iPhoto library. The other, a LaCie desktop FW800 drive, has the new Aperture library. Don't know if that is relevant.
I am fairly certain that for every file imported, Aperture is touching at least 20-30 files, based upon my perusal of the filesystem structure.
To bad it can't just figure out where it left off (which I can easily do by looking around the filesystem). For example, to get an estimate of the number of photos imported so far:
AdmiralOSX:/Volumes/MediaLibraryBottom/Aperture Library.aplibrary/iPhoto Library/Rolls$ ls /importgroup | grep -v '^$' | fgrep -v \: | wc -l
8297
To see which roll is importing:
AdmiralOSX:/Volumes/MediaLibraryBottom/Aperture Library.aplibrary/iPhoto Library/Rolls$ ls -lrt | tail -1
drwxr-xr-x 8 XXXX XXXX 272 Dec 9 04:07 2004-08-17 Roll 80.approject
And so forth.
Cheers,
Doug

Photo Management with large iPhoto libraries

I have over 50,000 photos in iPhoto and this slows iPhoto to the point of hanging. I am now importing new photos into a new library but this is a nuisance when wanting to select photos from both libraries for a specific porject. I'm not keen to have to import photos from one library to another. This seems very cumbersome. I have backed up my photos onto an external hard drive with Time Machine.
What's the best and most practical way to manage a large number of photos with many themes.
I'd appreciate some suggestions. I'm quite new to iPhoto.

A large SSD. Or external drive. Might help to max out RAM.
Some laptop models can take dual SSD internal
http://www.macsales.com/ssd
Might want to look up the iPhoto forum and support.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/ilife/iphoto
Move iphoto library to external drive -
http://basics4mac.com/article.php/move_iphoto_lib
You probably thought you were in MacBook Pro forum.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro
http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/

I have an iMac 2013 running OSX 10.9.4. I want to use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup user files to an external hard drive. Then I want to remove iPhoto libraries from iMac. What will happen to the iPhoto libraries that I back up when I run backup in a

I have an iMac 2013 running OSX 10.9.4. I want to use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup user files to an external hard drive to free up space on my iMack Hard drive.
So, say I make the backup today, delete iphoto libraries from my iMac, and then backup my iMac in a week. What happens to the iphoto libraries that are on the external backup drive now that I am backing up the iMac where they no longer exist?
I will have them backed up to a separate second external drive as well.
I'm just very cautious about removing them from the hard drive.
Thanks for helping and understanding my crazy caution!

I'd like to store my Aperture /IMovie Libraries on an external hard drive.
That is fine and recommended.. use the fastest disk you can afford.. ie Thunderbolt>USB3>FW800>USB2.
In addition, I'd like to partition the external hard drive so that Time Machine can use it to both back up my IMac and the external library drives.
Let me be clear.. you want to partition the one disk.. use it for TM and move your files to the external disk.. and then backup to the same disk.. You can do it.. but that is not a backup.. that is an experiment in how long you can get away with running files and backups on the same disk before you lose everything.. like Russian Roulette.. pull the trigger enough times and laws of probability will do you in.
You must have backups on a different disk .. otherwise it is pointless.
Can I set up a RAID 5 format for redundancy?
No.. you can buy special USB and Thunderbolt external drives that support RAID..
BUT that is still not a backup.. let me show why.. you make a silly move and corrupt your file in aperture.. it is not that rare.
Raid will corrupt all copies of the files.. it is replicated across all disks.
Delete a photo it is deleted across all disks.. you have no recovery.
Alway, always consider RAID system one disk.. backup onto another disk.. and if the photos or movies are at all important to you.. ie your family .. make another copy and store in a relatives house.. There is no such thing as too much redundancy.

Best way to merge multiple iPhoto libraries from several external hard drives into one, while deleting duplicates?

Problem: My wife and I both have MacBook Pros (MBPs). We take a lot of pictures and import them into iPhoto. When the storage capacity of our MBPs gets full, I have been moving our iPhoto libraries into external hard drives, which are now multiple (3 or 4). The problem I now realize we have been making, is that once the iPhoto libraries were copied onto the external hard drives, we were only deleting about half of the photos in each iPhoto library remaining in our MBPs (because we wanted to keep some of the important ones in our hard drives). Once the storage capacities of our MBPs got full again, I would repeat the whole process again and again. In essence I now have several large iPhoto libraries (each about 80 GB), each with multiple duplicate photos, divided among several external hard drives. And I am running out of space on my hard drive again. So what is the best way to:
a) merge all of these iPhoto libraries into just one, while simultaneously being able to delete all the duplicates? (or would you not recommend this?)
b) prevent this from happening again?
Thanks. BTW I am using OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 and iPhoto 8.1.2 (2009)

If you have Aperture 3.3 or later and iPhoto 9.3 or later you can merge libraries with Aperture.
Otherwise the only way to merge Libraries is with the paid ($30) version of iPhoto Library Manager
The Library Manager app can be set avoid duplicates.

Restore using Time Machine to new hard drive, but last "full" backup was 2012. how do I restore the rest of the Time Machine backups, particularily IPHOTO libraries for each user?

Restore using Time Machine to new hard drive, but last "full" backup was in 2012. How do I restore the rest of the Time Machine backups, particularily IPHOTO libraries for each user?
I entered Iphoto for my user and only photo up until 2012 were in the library. I thought the restore would do the incremental Time Machine backups too.....
Running 10.8.2

It usually means you are running Mavericks but have an earlier version of iPhoto. Open the App Store and upgrade your version of iPhoto to the Mavericks version.
The iWork apps are free with a new iOS device since 1 SEP 2013. They are free with a new Mac since 1 OCT 2013. They are also free with the upgrade to OS X Mavericks 10.9 if you had the previous version installed when you upgraded.The iWork apps are free with a new iOS device since 1 SEP 2013. They are free with a new Mac since 1 OCT 2013. They are also free with the upgrade to OS X Mavericks 10.9 if you had the previous version installed when you upgraded.
iWork and iLife for Mac come free with every new Mac purchase. Existing users running Mavericks can update their apps for free from the Mac App Store℠. iWork and iLife for iOS are available for free from the App Store℠ for any new device running iOS 7, and are also available as free updates for existing users. GarageBand for Mac and iOS are free for all OS X Mavericks and iOS 7 users. Additional GarageBand instruments and sounds are available for a one-time in-app purchase of $4.99 for each platform.

How do i delete a backup? I deleted a large iPhoto library, but it didn't create any space as there is now a backup that is the same size.

I deleted a large iPhoto library from my hard drive to make space for an updated version. When I emptied the trash and checked on memory, there was an equivalent sized backup, so I still can't download the new library. How do i delete the backup from my hard drive?

You could be seeing the local Time Machine backup files.
See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #30 for the details on Local Snapshots.

How to unify multiple iPhoto libraries from different Mac OS versions?

I am pretty good with the Mac itself and have been a long time user. I knew full well acumulating multiple iphoto libraries in older backups (intead of building up on one) was not a great idea but for several reasons I have had to live that way. Now is the time to clean it all up once and for all and I need some wisdom;
-I got my external drive as my new iphoto library now. It's being used, there are already albums in it and it's ready to accept older libraries.
-What I want is that the older libraries (about 10 of them from different Mac OS versions) to show up in the new external drive as they looked in iphot back then. As albums in other words.
-I do not want them imported in a single folder that's full of photos.
Any help is much appreciated,
Cheers.
M

If you imported a previous iphoto library into your new one, it created a folder inside the iphoto called "imported".
That was the problem. One should never import one library into another. Only iPhoto 6 libraries and earlier can be imported into a library now. With the introduction of iPhoto 7 the library was changed from a folder to a package which can't be imported by the current iPhoto version.
To use an older library with a new iPhoto version one just opens that library with iPhoto and lets iPhoto update it as necessary. No importing necessary.
Also you can use the paid verson of iPhoto Library Manager to merge those additional libraries into your current working library (be sure to have a current backup of your current library before merging). What will be included are albums, Events, keywords, titles, descriptions, places. Books, slideshows, calendars in the other libraries will be copied over as just albums.
OT

Iphoto Libraries are to large. Next step.

Weighing my options, trying to reach a final decision on what to do next.
My Iphoto libraries are 350 GB I am ready for new editing tools. I want to have an organized library and when I return to my photos I need to be productive with my time.
I have lots of slide shows to convert; cannot use Iphoto Library Manager
What do I need to manage as my image files double and triple in size each year?
IS there a Database that I should be using for photos or should I consider a web service for these photos, (helpful for storage, back ups) and then work on small libraries as projects?
Does Aperture’s library manager handle and organize these libraries well, and I can remain productive? If so it seems from my online research Aperture is easy to use and convert and begin organizing existing libraries (just need a sanity check).
If not what are other choices.
I am moving on with editing tools my choices are, Aperture, Photoshop$$, or Adobe Light Room.
Need to solve the photo organization, storage, backup and be certain the size of the library or project I am working on does not bog down the tools I choose.
Thanks in advance for our help!

First let me state that what you are considering is an apples to oranges comparison.
Both Aperture and Lightroom are DAM applications where DAM stands for Digital Asset Management. These applications provide a database for the storage of your photos.
Photoshop is not. It is a photographic editor.
Personally I find Aperture to be perfectly fine for all of my photographic needs. I have a library of about 260 GB. I experience no problems with it all.
Allan

Want to grab all old hard drive backup iPhoto libraries. Possible?

Hey guys! So I want to get all my old backup iPhoto libraries and put them all into my current library without duplicating photos or overlapping my current photos. Is this possible?
Thanks for all contributions!

The paid version of iPhoto Library Manager can. Select the Library ➙ Merge Libraries menu option:
Then select the destination library and the source library and merge:
Be sure to have a backup copy of your destination library before starting the merge process.
OT

Merging iphoto libraries (& itunes, imovie) backups

My relative had her 4 macs taken to an apple dealer and asked them to take all the 'stuff' (photos, movies were the reason) and merge them onto the largest sized mac (macpro). I believe they ended up the MacPro now has 4 internal hard drives (I don't think any are partitioned, I'll find out if need to). The main HD is 1TB and half this space is used. Then the other 3 internal hard drives have 250GB(?) and (what I think are) 'copies' of the other 3 mac computers "stuff". She got a 1TB external hard drive to backup with time machine the mac pro (not using yet). She did this because she has a ginourmous iphoto library and wanted them all merged, then backed up with ability to remove all/or some photos from library. She has burned several iphoto DVDs (not using export) as a hard copy of photo files (not completely done yet).
The "copies" of the 3 internal hard drives show these folders: Applications, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, ..., Library, Movies, Music, Pictures, etc. How can I merge the Pictures, Movies and Music "stuff" (or libraries/data) from the 3 onto the 1 (1TB) hard drive. After I learn how to do this, can I simply delete all these folders "copied" on the 3 hard drives??
The plan is to merge the 3 iphoto libraries (or data?) to the main internal 1TB macpro HD's iphoto library, then delete the backup iphoto libraries from each "backed up" internal hard drive. Then to finish backing up all photos to DVDs, then get Time Machine backing up to the external 1TB. Plus there is carbon clone application (?) that they added to her mac, will I need to make a clone of the final version when it's all done? I'm guessing this is what they used to make the "copies" of the computers.
I hope this makes sense, I knew it'd be hard to explain and I'm trying to go by memory... I know this is iphoto section, so if there is a link to the imovie/itunes issue please help with a link. I know they are each separate issues.
THANKS!

Thank you, I will look at that for merging them. I was just thinking the DVDs as an extra backup, besides also having a copy on an external hd, or one of the internal drives. Yes time consuming. But extra can't hurt. I also thought of printing index cards to have as reference, especially if we remove some of the photos from the library.
I found for imovie merging: https://discussions.apple.com/message/11710306#11710306 not sure if its the full answer.
For the itunes library merge I found: https://discussions.apple.com/message/11924952#11924952 (looks long but didn't find anything else)

Updating iPhoto Libraries for latest Update of IPhoto version fails

I have ILife 11 and have IPhoto Libraries in different locations and now that the program says they need to be "updated for the latest version of IPhoto", but when I start the update the Mac always gets the rolling Beachball "eventually" and the error report says system hung. What do I do? I am in Lion OS. Are my libraries too big? They are on large External drives. (1TB or bigger).They worked with the my older IPhoto's versions so why not with the update? This was from an auto update message from Apple for IPhoto. When locating a library, a message tells me I need to update it to work with latest IPhoto, and asks, UPDATE? I hit yes.
Can I put these libraries in someplace special for my Mac to be able to update them? Can my Lion be reinstalled as a possible fix? If so how? This is wrong for Apple to screw up their loyal customers computers. Photo libraries are precious.
IPhoto Fans please help.
Lion OS 10.7.3
IPhoto 9.2.1 in application folder

What format are these external disks?

I have multiple iPhoto libraries w/ duplicates in several. How can I consolidate and find the dupes? Some photos are versions of the original.

I have multiple iPhoto libraries w/ duplicates in several. How can I consolidate and find the dupes? Some photos are versions of the original. On my iMac, I also have many folders containing some of the same photos. My computer is used for both personal and business purposes. My libraries should be separated, one for each.

To merge libraries use iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - or Aperature
To find duplicates within an iPhoto library use iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ -
Photos that are not in an iPhoto library can be imported telling iPhoto not to import duplicates (an imperfect procews) and then IPLM can find the duplicates
As to keeping seperate libraries - only you can do that - IPLM can move photos between libraries for you but only you can know which photos should be in which library
LN

Any way to restore iTunes and iPhoto libraries from failed Time Machine backup?

Is there a way to restore iTunes and iPhoto libraries from an unmountable Time Machine backup?
Background: I received an update alert on my iMac (mid-2010, 1TB) from Time Machine (wirelessly connected to a Time Capsule, 2TB 2013) that it required an update and required rebooting, of course, it happened when I was in the middle of a project and I postponed the restart for later. That evening I turned off the computer and coincidentally the next morning, the iMac would not start; it loaded to the Apple logo and about an 1/8 of the progress bar would load before the iMac would turn off.
The iMac had been fine to that day (OS upgrades and all since 2010) so I was assuming something misfired when I declined the Time Machine update. I tried the PRAM and SMC resets mentioned in the forums but no dice. I then went into Disk Utility to try repairs and there were errors on the hard drive that could not be fixed. My next step was to erase the drive and restore from my Time Machine backup. Before doing that I checked Disk Utility and to my horror, it told me that my Time Machine backups were unmountable so of course my first thought was that all my files were gone.
The TC was under warranty so I called support and they referred me to the local Genius Bar. The Genius was great and showed me that my files weren't lost even though the Time Machine backup was unmountable. They recommended I erase the partitions, starting from scratch and I would have to transfer the Time Machine backup files manually by directly connecting an ethernet cable from the TC to the computer. If that didn't work, the hard drive was bad and needed replacement which they could take care of.
I followed their recommendation and the hard drive is fine. I was so relieved to hear that my files were safe that I forgot to ask about all of the metadata that was lost in iTunes (de-selected songs, playlists, rankings, play counts) and iPhoto (geotags, names, etc). Any ideas / help? I sank considerable time into my music and photos and would love to have that time back.
FWIW, I'm in the process of buying an external hard drive as a secondary backup to the TC as my confidence is a little shaken on the product line - the first time I ever actually need a backup and the backup is unmountable. My whole point of spending a little more and buying into the Apple ecosystem for a backup solution was to streamline the backup process and avoid these types of issues.

Thank you for the reply. I tried the Disk Utility to repair my TC's Time Machine backup disk with no luck, it stopped with the message:
Disk utility stopped repairing "iMac"
Disk Utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
It took a night but I was able to copy all the TC Time Machine files to the external hard drive as a backup to a backup just in case. I'm still pretty bummed the TC's backup didn't allow for Disk Utility's restore functionality. Fortunately, the iPhoto library backup I dragged to the iMac from the Time Capsule backup worked without a hitch. On the downside, the "iTunes Library.itl" backup I dragged over is locked so now I'm checking out the forums for any ways to fix that. I temporarily created a new iTunes library with all my apps and music but plan on reverting to the old iTunes library if possible so I can start syncing my iOS devices again.

Hi. I setup an external hard drive on my AirPort Extreme to act as a central disk for multiple iPhoto libraries. I have a new iMac with iPhoto '11 and an MBPro with iPhoto '09. I'm getting an error message saying different versions. Ideas?

Long title. Sorry. It pretty much explains the situation. I'd like to have all of my photos from two (ultimately three) computers on this central file and be able to access them from any of the computers. The error message I get when I start up my MBPro is: "You can’t open your current photo library using this version of iPhoto" and, "You have made changes to your photo library using a newer version of iPhoto. Please quit and use the latest version of iPhoto." It then forces me to quit iPhoto. I have tried the suggestion of holding down the opt key on iPhoto startup, but it doesn't seem to help.
Two questions:
Can I store multiple iPhoto libraries on the same central disc?
If so, how should I address the error message?
Thank you!

Hey Kappy, thank you for your help! Yes, I can open both libraries on the iMac without problem. I am still confused why the computer that created one of the libraries cannot open said library after it was moved to the external disk. Why is the iPhoto format not readable by all versions across the board?? The reason I'm pushing the issue is because in my household, we have an older MB, my wife's MBP, my MBP and now a new "family" iMac. The MB (circa 2007) has an old version of iPhoto, the two MBP's have iPhoto '08 and the new iMac has '11. It is my goal to have all of the photos that we've accrued over the years, located centrally, and accessible from all of these computers. Is iPhoto the most appropriate program, or would Lightroom make more sense?

Easier backup of large iPhoto libraries in version 6?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for